"Why don't I have this luck with Lotto numbers?" cartoonist Tom Scott was wondering yesterday after his cartoon in Saturday's Dominion Post picked the way the Rugby World Cup final would unfold.

The cartoon depicted a rugby fan having a recurring nightmare in which Aaron Cruden was injured in the final, forcing the much maligned Stephen Donald onto the field to kick the goal that would determine who won or lost.

That's exactly what happened. When a knee injury forced Cruden off before halftime, Donald was forced to make his cup debut in the most pressure filled situation.

And after Piri Weepu sent three shots at goal astray, kicking duties were handed to the fourth-string number 10. But as the country held its breath, Donald calmly stepped up and nailed a penalty – and it was that kick which gave New Zealand its one point advantage when the final whistle blew.

Yesterday, Scott was bemused at how prophetic the cartoon had been. Although he had depicted Donald being pulled off the bench as a nightmare, he was happy to be proven wrong.

"I was really thrilled for him. He came on and played really well, he was really steady."

Scott wasn't sure if he had a natural knack for prophecy, but said the way the French played in the final showed you should never write people off – so maybe there was hope for Labour at the election, with a result that may be much closer than anticipated.